OAK #47 – I'm sitting in compacted fill. No nutrients. No biology. Roots in debris. Mulch piled too high, rotting my trunk.
PROJECT MANAGER – Keep watering them.
OAK #47 – 𝑰'𝒎 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒖𝒔𝒆.
𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙨…
SITE SUPERINTENDENT – Who's been checking the timer?
CONTRACTOR – I thought you were.
SITE SUPERINTENDENT – It's been off for three weeks.
OAK #47 – July. No water. Dead soil that holds nothing. Mulch not helping.
𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒕. 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌. 𝑰'𝒎 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆.
𝙈𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣…
INSPECTOR – Here for the one-year mitigation check.
DEVELOPER – We planted 96 oaks.
INSPECTOR – (𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦) I count 23 alive. Maybe.
DEVELOPER – We had irrigation issues.
INSPECTOR – 73 dead trees. That's 146 inches you owe. Again.
DEVELOPER – We already spent $46,080!
INSPECTOR – And now you'll pay to replace the failures.
DEVELOPER – That's not fair! The warranty just expired!
OAK #47 – (𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘸) Fair? You planted me in stripped soil. Made me 100% irrigation-dependent. Then forgot to water me. Hoped mulch would save me.
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒔. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞
Mitigation isn't planting trees. It's giving them a chance to live.
DEVELOPER – We removed 192 inches of trees. Municipality requires 1:1 replacement.
CONTRACTOR – No problem. 96 two-inch oaks. $480 each, installed.
DEVELOPER – Perfect. Let's close it out.
2" OAK #47 – (𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦) Wait… what is this?
DEVELOPER – Your new home.
OAK #47 – This isn't soil. This is construction fill.
CONTRACTOR – It's what's here. You'll be fine.
OAK #47 – Where's the topsoil? The organic layer? The biology?
DEVELOPER – Topsoil scraped during grading. Sold it for profit. Gone.
OAK #47 – So I have nothing to eat?
DEVELOPER – You'll get irrigation and mulch.
OAK #47 – 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐜𝐡.
𝙎𝙞𝙭 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧…
PROJECT MANAGER – Why do half these trees look yellow?
CONTRACTOR – They're stressed. Irrigation's running.
OAK #47 – I'm sitting in compacted fill. No nutrients. No biology. Roots in debris. Mulch piled too high, rotting my trunk.
PROJECT MANAGER – Keep watering them.
OAK #47 – 𝑰'𝒎 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒖𝒔𝒆.
𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙨…
SITE SUPERINTENDENT – Who's been checking the timer?
CONTRACTOR – I thought you were.
SITE SUPERINTENDENT – It's been off for three weeks.
OAK #47 – July. No water. Dead soil that holds nothing. Mulch not helping.
𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒕. 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌. 𝑰'𝒎 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆.
𝙈𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣…
INSPECTOR – Here for the one-year mitigation check.
DEVELOPER – We planted 96 oaks.
INSPECTOR – (𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦) I count 23 alive. Maybe.
DEVELOPER – We had irrigation issues.
INSPECTOR – 73 dead trees. That's 146 inches you owe. Again.
DEVELOPER – We already spent $46,080!
INSPECTOR – And now you'll pay to replace the failures.
DEVELOPER – That's not fair! The warranty just expired!
OAK #47 – (𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘸) Fair? You planted me in stripped soil. Made me 100% irrigation-dependent. Then forgot to water me. Hoped mulch would save me.
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒔. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞
Mitigation isn't planting trees. It's giving them a chance to live.
Mass mortality = you pay twice.
• 96 trees × $480 = $46,080
• 73 failures × 2" × $480 = $35,040 (Over Budget)
Total cost: $81,120. For trees that never had a chance.
𝐈𝐧 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬, 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝟔𝟎𝟎 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝟏,𝟖𝟎𝟎 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞.
Your "green" plan means nothing if the soil is dead and irrigation is an afterthought.
When green goals meet reality, biology always wins.
hashtag#TreesDontNegotiate hashtag#SoilMatters hashtag#MitigationReality
P.S. Before planting in stripped soil, ask: Can they survive here, or are you buying expensive sticks? 🌳